The conference-length paper, providing some six to eight full pages of properly formatted text plus a correct MLA-style Works Cited page, is a fundamental exercise in English studies. Intended for a fifteen- to twenty-minute talk at gatherings of scholars, it serves as a proving ground for ideas which can then be further developed. The paper is written and read aloud along with other papers that seem to be related, and the authors and their audiences discuss the ideas contained therein in the interest of sharing and enriching understanding. Presentations of conference papers are frequently the means through which junior scholars enter into the broader academic community for the first time, and they serve as a means for senior scholars to remain immersed in the living intellectual community for which they serve as guides and touchstones. Conference-length work is therefore uniquely valuable for itself and for what it allows, and it is for that reason that students in LIT 203 are asked to compose a conference-length paper for the class.
The conference-length paper, as noted, will need to consist of six to eight full pages of appropriately formatted text plus a correct MLA-style Works Cited page. It will need to introduce a thesis about a work of American literature, argue in support of that thesis through the use of amply and appropriately explained primary and secondary source evidence, and offer a fitting conclusion that works to indicate the relevance of the project being pursued. The type of writing that is desired from students in their conference-length papers is exemplified here, although the specific topics may not be entirely relevant to the individual assignment.
Papers will be evaluated in seven categories:
Clarity and appropriateness of thesis
Clarity and appropriateness of primary source evidence
Clarity and appropriateness of secondary source evidence
Clarity and appropriateness of explanation of evidence
Clarity and appropriateness of organization
Adherence to assignment and formatting guidelines (including paper length of six to eight full pages and MLA-style citation)
Adherence to prescribed standards of mechanics (grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.)
Each category will be assigned a score, A+ through 0, and the average of the seven category scores will be entered as the assignment grade.
The assignment must be submitted as an attachment via email to geoffrey.b.elliott@gmail.com prior to the beginning of class on the day the course calendar indicates the assignment is due. Acceptable file formats for the attachment are limited to Rich Text Format (.rtf) and Microsoft Word documents (.doc or .docx); no other file formats will be accepted. Typed hard copies may be submitted only with PRIOR approval of the instructor, offered on a case-by-case basis by direct consultation. Handwritten copies are not acceptable in any case. Failure to follow stated submission guidelines will result in the submitted assignment being discarded.
Students are reminded that appropriate citation must be provided for any externally referenced information, and all included information must be justified. That is, any time external information is included, there must be a reason, expressed along with that information, for its inclusion. Such materials must also be appropriately integrated into the student's writing. Acceptable standards for doing so appear on the Purdue University Online Writing Lab, here; be sure to follow MLA rules. FAILURE TO ACCOUNT FOR SOURCES IS PLAGIARISM AND WILL BE DEALT WITH HARSHLY.